The Manor Part VI-Eradication

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“D-do we all have to become v-vampyr?” The tailors wife stammered, head bowed in fearful subservience.

“If you wish to remain human, you choose to forfeit your life. The moment the trader found my manor, your fates were sealed,” Lady Anastasia said with cold indifference.

Whimpers escaped several of the townsfolk who exchanged worried glances.

Misses Eade asked, “How did he find your manor, my lady?”

Alden’s chest tightened. A Manor deep in the woods housing hundreds of children was written off as a local folktale. It was used to scare the town children into behaving. It wasn’t until Alden sought it out that it became more than a legend. He held his breath in anticipating for Lady Anastasias answer.

“He was an unfortunately cunning animal. Setting traps to ensnare victims, using them to lure him to others. It was his greed that led him to my Manor. I fear, Easton Burrough didn’t carry enough supply for his business demands,” the words slid off her tongue like she was eager to free herself from their rancid taste.

Alden’s eyes widened at her answer. Resentment flooded into his heart. She commanded him to consume a rotting corpse as punishment for exposing her manor, but simultaneously believed him to be a victim. Then murdered half a town in order to lure out the rest of the rot. She was a brutal woman. Though, as he reflected on her actions the bitterness in his heart eased. She wasn’t quite the monster he thought her to be. Every move she made was calculated. She was no mere beast hunting others for sport. Her actions were merciless, but they were not senseless.

“H-how do we know you won’t sell our children?” The tailor’s wife asked.

“I will do no such thing,” Lady Anastasias voice cut through the nervous chatter like a blade. All eyes were on her now. “Before you make your decision, I will tell you this. If you choose to serve me at my Manor, your service will not end until your existence does. This decision is not to be made lightly. Choose wisely.”

Unceremoniously, Lady Anastasia stepped down from the pulpit. Without word, the Attendants began corralling the leftover townsfolk while Lady Anastasia walked down the center of the pews, gracefully stepping over the leftover limbs and entrails scattering the floor. She moved like a haunting reaper, her shadowy dress swept the floor behind her, leaving streaks of blood in its wake.

Free to choose his next move, Alden maneuvered his way out of the church, glancing around in search of Lady Anastasia. He found her silhouette against the moonlight, slowly gliding down the graveled main road. Following her path, they continued to the edge of town. As she drew near her wall of tendrils they began to dance, like children excitedly greeting their mother after time apart.

She stopped at the towns edge and held her arm out to her tendrils that reached for her. As Alden drew closer, he watched their exchange. The tendrils twirled around her in greeting, dripping ichor dissipated into shimmering mist as it fell around her. She spoke with quiet affection to her tendrils caressing them gently. Moments later she waved them away and they slithered off in somber farewell, returning to their sentinel duties. Their flickering movements now reignited with fervor.

Lady Anastasia did not acknowledge Alden’s presence. Instead, she wove her arms together, long draping sleeves fluttering in the nights breeze as she turned to face the town of Easton Burrough. Like a weary mourner, she stood as the final farewell. The sound of hooves against gravel turned Alden’s attention away from her and to the three horse-drawn carriages headed in their direction.

The lead carriage, driven by Ophelia, was filled with the group of townsfolk from the church. Many wept softly and held each other close. Misses Eade watched out the back of the carriage catching Alden’s attention. She looked him up and down, then raised her brows as if asking a question. He gave a nod of reassurance. She returned a small smile back then turned back to the carriage, comforting the wife of the tailor who sobbed hysterically.

The next carriage was full of supplies and a handful of other townsfolk that Alden didn’t recall seeing in the church. Trailing behind, the last carriage was full of children. Alden’s stomach hitched. The children were still, slumped over one another like bodies being hauled away from a battlefield. Frantically, Alden scanned them, searching their little bodies for signs of life.

“Close your eyes and listen,” Lady Anastasia said quietly beside him.

Alden glanced at her, then closed his eyes and opened his ears. He could hear it, the gentle murmur of heartbeats, their soft breathing filled the nights air. Alden relaxed then turned to ask Lady Anastasia a question but found she was already gone, walking towards the center of the road as the last carriage crossed the barrier.

She looked over her shoulder, “If you do not wish to die, I would advise you to follow me.” She announced as she crossed the border herself.

Alden hurried after her. Now outside of town beyond her tendrils, Lady Anastasia turned back to face Easton Burrough. Alden took a step back and watched quietly as she raised her hands to the sky and began chanting. That same unfamiliar language from before whispered in the winds like a haunting melody. The air around her began to shimmer with twinkling iridescence.

Though her magic possessed the capacity for wicked destruction, there was an ancient beauty to it. Before her, before his change, the sight would have struck fear in Alden’s heart. But her magic wafted around her like crashing waves of playful sprites, excitedly reaching up to their master desperate for her attention. Whatever this power was, Lady Anastasia commanded it with a gentle grace.

Her quiet chanting continued, dark mist seeped from the ground beneath her, drifting up above the town of Easton Burrough, coalescing into wisps of starlit night, ebbing and flowing above the town.

Her chanting quickened; her voice carried the weight of an eternal night. That ominous cloud began to trickle over the town. Everything it touched evaporated into darkness. In less than an hour, the town of Easton Burrough and whomever was left within, had been eradicated. Generations of memories, erased.

Lady Anastasia lowered her hands and breathed deeply, releasing her magic. Her tendrils slowly wisped away into the breeze, along with the ominous cloud above. As her magic faded, she watched the starlit sky, her endless black hair flowed delicately in the wind. A heartbreaking silence befell the forest. What was once a prosperous town, was now an empty dirt covered field. In time, the space that held it would return to the forest.

“Your eyes are rather loud Mister Cain,” Lady Anastasia said, still watching the stars above.

Alden cheeks flushed as he searched for the words, “Apologies if I have offended you M’lady.” He gave a bow.

“You behave like a frightened animal.”

Still in a bow, Alden glanced up. The light of the moon shone down on Lady Anastasia like a spotlight in the night. He imagined if he was not there, she would have been communing with the moon rather than him.

“May I speak honestly?” he asked.

“You may.”

“You hold an immense power that is rather…merciless.”

Lady Anastasia gave a slow nod, “Tell me, Alden Cain, do you believe my actions to be unjust?”

“I-I well,” he stuttered.

Lady Anastasia sighed, “Speak freely Mister Cain, I am not so bloated with power that I am unreasonable.”

Alden cleared his throat, “My opinion on the matter is rather trivial now.”

“You avoid my question Alden Cain,” she said with a cool warning. “What would you have done, if a stranger came to your home and threatened Emily’s safety? Exposed her? How far would you have gone?”

“To the furthest reaches of hell until I ensured her safety,” his answer came easily.

Still gazing above, she pursed her lips before asking, “Do you grieve for Easton Burrough?”

“I can’t say I do,” he said as he looked out at the patch of emptiness before them.

Lady Anastasia looked to Alden now, eyes glowing with the night sky, “What of its people?”

“Those worthy of life have been spared.”

She closed the space between them, moving like the gentle mist of night she asked, “Do you believe yourself capable of determining whose life to condemn, and whose to save?”

Despite the suffering she inflicted upon him, her closeness did not frighten him. He stared into her night filled eyes and answered, “I know what I hold dear, and when to act in defense of it.”

“A rarity among men,” she replied, eyes falling away as she turned towards her manor. “Come, walk with me.”

They walked in silence, taking in the mossy landscape around them when Lady Anastasia asked, “Do you plan to remain at my Manor?”

“I was unaware that leaving was an option,” Alden answered honestly.

“I am not your slaver.”

After a moment of hesitation, Alden spoke, “You told the surviving townsfolk they would remain at your Manor until their end. Does that not extend to me?”

“It does not.”

Alden raised a brow, “Why am I free to leave but they are not?”

“Do you harbor resentments towards me? Do you wish to see my manor fall?” She asked.

“No, your Manor is truly a sanctuary for the children. They seem to blossom under your care,” he answered with a certainty he felt in his heart.

“And what of your punishment? Consuming the traders remains?”

Alden sighed heavily, the images of greenish entrails painted his mind sending both a shiver down his spine and a grumble to his stomach. “It was… merciless. However,” he trailed off. “I cannot say it was meaningless. You are a rather fierce woman. I would certainly fear becoming your enemy.”

She nodded thoughtfully, “A sound conclusion and precisely why you have the freedom to choose how you spend your eternity. Though you have a propensity for foolishness at times, you have also proven yourself to be pure of heart.”

The corners of Alden’s mouth turned up, “That seems a gracious way of suggesting I am of no threat to you.”

Lady Anastasia let out a spirited laugh, putting her fingers to her lips in an attempt to silence herself she added, “I see now where Emily learned to speak so candidly.”

Alden smiled at the lightness in Lady Anastasia’s tone, “Though I have considered leaving, I do not think Emily would allow it now,” he joked.

Wearing a kind smile, Lady Anastasia added, “Indeed, she has certainly become the little socialite. There is rarely a time I see her alone.”

The chill in the air became suddenly apparent as Alden’s heart shuddered with longing. Emily’s absence weighed heavily on him. He glanced up at the sky above; the early light of day trickled into the darkness of night, washing away the depth of depravity that occurred only hours ago.

Neither filled the silence the hung between them.